Joel McNeely

Well hey, I'm not sure anyone's even looking at this food blog. But so what, it's tension releasing to yack on about my second favorite subject.

Okay, today: STOCK! The single most important thing to cooking well, (okay one of them) is making your own stock. It will make a world of difference in everything you make. Commercial stock is horrible and has enough salt in it to cause instant hypertension. I usually have a stock making day or two every month. It can be a very calming thing to make. Skim, skim, skim. I always keep brown veal stock on hand. I use lots of bone (10 lbs.) and cook it for at least 12 hours. I won't go into recipes here because you can get lots of good stock ideas online. But heed this: NEVER boil your stock. It will make a cloudy mess out of it. Keep it at around 190 degrees. I also take some of the finished veal stock, add a little red wine, some additional aromatics and reduce it down to a demi-glace. Then into ice trays and the freezer it goes and stored in Ziploc bags. These cubes are little flavor jacks for instant quick sauces.

I also make a dark chicken stock as well. This is the workhorse of stocks. I use it in everything. When beef stock is called for I usually substitute ½ veal and ½ dark chicken. It's lighter but still flavorful.

Finally, ask your fish guy for lobster bones he has kicking around. He'll give them to you for free. Hack them up, add a little tomato paste and roast them until they are nice and browned. Then make a stock as you would the chicken stock. You won't believe how amazing this is. If you take about a cup of the finished stock and reduce it down to a few tablespoons and whisk in a little butter it becomes a glace that will blow your mind. Put it under a seared scallop and your family will think you're a genius.

All these stocks can keep in the freezer for a few months. I usually put some in ½ quart containers and freeze some in ice trays. That way if you only need a little you don't have to thaw a big batch.

Bon Appetit!

Spring is here in California. That means wonderful things growing that we only get once a year. If you have a farmer's market near you, GO. This is the best way to buy fresh food, things that are seasonal, grown close by and usually not messed up with nasty chemicals. My bliss at the moment is pea shoots and English peas. Yup, it's a lot of work shucking the damn things but damn, it's worth it. The pea shoots (the green from the top of the pea plant) are amazing, flash sautéed in a little EVOO (no I'm not a Rachel Ray drone, can't stand her), shallots and a squeeze of lemon. Perfection.

And last week I was brave enough to buy fresh Fava beans. Okay, those things are A LOT of work. First the pods have to come off and then there is another shell around the thing. Sure you can boil them to get off the second shell, but then all the color goes away when you cook them. And why eat favas if you aren't going to get that incredibly unique green color? Lastly, chives. I've got abundant chives in my garden. More than I could ever use. So I cut a bunch, ran them under hot water to remove some of the chlorophyll and then soaked them in a little canola oil for a day or two. Then pass it through cheesecloth for several hours to drain out the oil. You get bright green flavorful oil that is perfect for garnishing. Okay that's it. C'mon, GO to the farmers market!